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The
above scripture emphasizes on “praying always” or praying at
all times (on every occasion and in every season) in the Spirit.
Praying in the Spirit is synonymous to praying in tongues (a
heavenly or angelic language). When the Holy Spirit prays in the
heavenly language, the human mind becomes unfruitful and void of
human understanding. |
FGBMF men in deep prayer.
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“For he who speaks in
tongues does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands
him; however, in the Spirit he speaks mysteries.”
(1 Corinthians 14:2)
It is essential for
intercessors to appreciate the importance of praying in tongues or
in the Spirit for long hours and long periods during deeper prayer
sessions. At most prayer meetings, intercessors pray in tongues at
the most for 5 to 10 minutes as a formality and then quickly switch
to praying in the human tongues or languages that the human minds
can understand and appreciate. This is contrary to what Paul wrote
to the Ephesians concerning “Praying always with all prayer and
supplication (intercession) in the Spirit.” Paul advised the
Ephesians to pray at ALL times and that ALL their prayer and
supplication (intercession) should be made in the Spirit. It appears
to be incomprehensible to pray at all times in the Spirit but
basically, it simply means to pray in tongues for long hours or
periods and as often as possible and every time we pray.
CAUTION: The devil will do his best to discourage or stop praying in
the Spirit by targeting the mind of the intercessor – making it to
wander over all the place or filling it with evil thoughts till the
intercessor feels condemned and gives up. Christians can overcome
the enemy by the blood of Jesus and word of God.
Supplication or
Intercessory prayer is not for Self but for Others (all the saints)
and such prayer requires commitment, sacrifice, perseverance and
willingness to travail with fasting, weeping and mourning. When
people of God are willing to intercede for others, like what Daniel
and Nehemiah did for the Israelites and the City of Jerusalem, they
will see great and mighty move and favor of God.
Set out below is a
specimen Guide, which is by no means exhaustive, on Deeper Prayers
for FGBMF Leaders in Malaysia:
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(i) |
Confession of
sins on their behalf:-
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a) |
Prejudices against other races, cultures and
communities. |
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b) |
Lack
of concern for the needs in the marketplace, city
and Nation. |
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c) |
Failure to worship God with all their heart, soul
and mind. |
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d) |
Failure to worship God in Spirit and truth. |
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e) |
Failure to seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness. |
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f) |
Failure to spend time with God and be well connected
to our Lord Jesus (The Vine). |
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g) |
Failure to Love one another as
commanded by the
Lord (John 15: 12). |
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h) |
Committing sins in:
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- |
Possession of Carved Images and
other gods. |
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Idolatry, Personal passions,
Selfishness. |
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Lacking Integrity, Bribery,
Covetousness, Cheating, Lying, etc. |
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|
i) |
Other
Sins as the Lord reveals.
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(ii) |
Interceding
prayer and supplication:-
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a) |
Revival in Spiritual lives. |
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b) |
Grace,
Mercy, Forgiveness and Eternal Salvation. |
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c) |
Unity
in the Body of Christ. |
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d) |
Spiritual Growth and Maturity. |
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e) |
Blessings of God upon their lives, families and
churches. |
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f) |
Love
and Humility be practiced in them, through them and
among them. |
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g) |
Effective marketplace leadership in FGBMF ministry. |
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h) |
Their
lives be spirit filled and their walk be led and
ordered by the Holy Spirit. |
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i) |
Good
health and strength to live a Righteous and Holy
life. |
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j) |
Good
Stewardship and Servanthood. |
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The above prayer items
can be prayed for by reading through the complete list in one minute
during a prayer meeting, but this is not what deeper prayer is all
about. Intercessory prayer for each prayer item requires
perseverance and time to meditate upon and to travail before the
Lord. For instance, “Confession of prejudices against other races,
cultures and communities” (Item i (a)) – One should take time to
meditate upon the type of prejudices that come to one’s mind;
prejudices against who and why; what are their consequences and
effects, etc. The time required for confession, prayer, supplication
(in the Spirit) for the said prayer item can easily take up more
than 10 minutes or even an hour. You cannot rush through
intercessory prayer and supplication in the Spirit unless you pray
and intercede in your human tongues. Prayer meetings with human
tongues are often short meetings but not when we pray and intercede
in the Spirit – This is the reason why it has been termed as “Deeper
Prayers”.
You can prepare your own
Guides on Deeper Prayers for :
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j) |
Churches,
Christian Ministries and Fellowships. |
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ii) |
Governments,
Institutions and Authorities. |
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iii) |
Cities, States
and Nations. |
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iv) |
Cultures,
Communities, Races and Religions. |
Guiding Principles:
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i) |
Confession of
sins and saying prayers on their behalf. |
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ii) |
Prayer and
supplication (intercession). |
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iii) |
Applying the
keys of the kingdom - Binding and Loosing. |
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iv) |
Confession of
the word of God
- His promises and authority. |
2) SPIRITUAL WARFARE BY PULLING DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of
the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in
the heavenly places.”
(Ephesians
6:11-12)
As long as we are in the
world, we will have tribulation of all sorts. But we have been told
to be of good cheer for Jesus Christ has overcome the world for all
His people. Christians often have to deal in their daily lives with
opposition, discouragement, tragedy, threats, oppression, fears,
rejection, criticisms, hatred, ridicule, persecution, temptation or
trials by their fellow human beings and sometimes even by so-called
Christians. Most of the times, we don’t even understand why bad or
negative things happen to us. The above scripture tells us that we
should not waste our energy or peace of mind wrestling against flesh
and blood but against the evil spirits which often work through
people to rob, steal and kill our joy in the Lord. As Christians, we
have the whole armor of God and His weapons to deal with evil
spirits and the wiles (cunning tricks and schemes) of the devil. To
accomplish great and mighty works, we need to comprehend the word of
the Lord in
Zechariah 4:6.
“Not by might nor by
power,
but by My Spirit,” Says the Lord of hosts.
The most powerful weapon
we have is the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit is a gentle person
and He will not take control of our lives unless we allow Him to do
so. Until Christians are full of the Holy Spirit, they will have to
surrender those areas of their lives which are not under the control
of the Holy Spirit. They could be their Business, Family, Wealth
(like the Rich Young Ruler who was unable to release his wealth as
mentioned in
Matthew 19: 16-22),
Hobby, Ministry, People, Desires, Achievements or any thing which
are more important than God. Unless God is first in their lives,
Christians will encounter earthly problems and will continually
stumble in their pursuit of holiness and righteousness.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of
God.”
(Romans
8: 14)
Most, if not all,
spiritual battles and warfares are won through prayer in the Spirit.
As mentioned in the preceding section on “Intercessory prayer for
others”, we understand from Paul’s exultation that we should “Pray
at all times and Pray in the Spirit or tongues for long hours and
periods.” For those who frequently pray in the Spirit for long hours
and periods, they rarely encounter spiritual dryness, oppression or
other spiritual related problems as they are constantly being
watered, refreshed and strengthened in the Spirit.
Besides enjoying deeper intimacy and fellowship with God, they will
also experience liberty in the Spirit and a comprehensive
understanding of the joy in coming into the deeper realms of the
Spirit where victories, breakthroughs and transformation happen all
the time. When Christians are in the deeper realms of the Spirit:-
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Demons flee. |
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Strongholds
are dismantled. |
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Gifts of the
Holy Spirit are released freely. |
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Signs and
wonders manifest in the physical realms. |
Strongholds are either Spiritual or Physical.
Spiritual strongholds are
generally understood by all as those associated with evil spirits.
Physical strongholds are those that exist in people’s lives or their
common practices such as negative habits or attitudes, apathy,
complacency, greed, lust, anger, covetous, indifference, etc which
are hindrances to holiness, righteousness and spiritual pursuits.
All strongholds have to be dealt with and pulled down with the
Spiritual weapons given to us. “For the weapon of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds.”
(2
Corinthians 10: 4)
Last but not least, submit yourself to the Spirit of God and the
Word of God.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from
you,”
In
submission, the weapon of warfare (Word of God, Name of Jesus and
the Holy Spirit) can be used to great effect in pulling down of
strongholds. |
